well, well, well

the sub zero rep spoke too soon. that whole "nobody else has separate air compressors for their freezer and refrigerator"...not so true anymore.

samsung does it. and they do it for a fraction of the cost. sure, you're not getting all the high-end features (and the name) of a sub zero, but as far as the main function of a refrigerator, you've hit the nail on the head: maximized freshness.

check it out here. click on a product and read about the "twin-cooling" feature.

not too bad looking either. all of these are under $1500. i'm listening.

as i approach home ownership, i have to keep these kinds of things in mind. and as much as sub zero impresses me, i'd rather save the 3K and get the next best thing.

the heart of the home

i love kitchens. designing them, cooking and eating in them, and hanging out in them.

there has been a big shift in the design of houses that incorporates the kitchen with the rest of the house. i respect the idea behind this: no entertainer wants to be separated from his/her entertainees. however, i think the idea still needs a little perfection. when you completely open a kitchen up to your living area, your kitchen tends to overrun the house. the smells, the noises (pleasant and unpleasant) all leak into your living space, making it kind of chaotic. add tall ceilings and hardwood floors into the mix, then you get echoed chaos.

my solution to this: instead of blending your kitchen and living area, create a living area in your kitchen. add a large table, create some banquet seating. knock out the wall between your kitchen and dining and make your dining room a wonderful blend of eating, socializing, and comfort.

i envision the perfect kitchen one where i can spend the majority of my saturday mornings in: cooking, eating, and drinking coffee while reading. few things in this life are better than a lazy saturday morning with coffee. prolonged pajama wearing is key.

here's a kitchen where i could spend a lazy saturday morning in. these folks have maximized the use of their small space very well.

well done!

this is on it's way

i quite like it.

it reads: notice what you care about; assume many others share your dream.

what do you care about?

nothin like some good ben for a bad day

this song might as well be called "dana"

check it out. good stuff.

jane be jane

you're better that way

not when you're tryin

and immitatin somethin

you think you saw

so jane be jane

i know sometimes that might

drive them away

but let them stay there

you don't

need them anyway

you're worried there might not be

anything at all inside

but that you're worried

that should tell you that's not right

don't try to see yourself

the way that others do

it's no use

you're worried there might not be

anything at all inside

but that you're worried

that should tell you that's not right

you've had it harder than

anyone could know

so hard to let it go

but its your life

and you can decorate it

as you like

beneath the paint and armor

in your eyes

the truth still shines

jane be jane

win-win-win

not only does apartment living prevent you from doing what you want entirely on the inside, but you also have a lack of control on your "curb" appeal. i don't have a front entry. i have a foyer, which i share with 4 other units. all we have to our own is our front doors. and here's what they look like:

isn't it beautiful? just look at that paint job! the precision! the accuracy! first-class painters, i can assure you.

that is what my door looked like. only my 5 was misplaced, mis-spaced, and hanging crooked. every day i see that five a little part of my soul dies. EVERY DAY. today was the final straw. first i yanked the 5 off and grabbed the hammer to fix it to the door in correct position. but then i thought "what good will that do if there is still messy white paint all over it? i know, i'll repaint it in gold paint." well i didn't have gold paint. i had the basics. and of course, if you know me, you know the first one i went for is red. hey, if i can't have the red front door, i'll at least have red front numbers.

and tada!

here i am! i almost outlined them in white but then i thought "red and white A? don't think so."

if the complex gets mad, i'll buy them another brass and tacky 5 and A from walmart for 5 dollars. either way they either have an exciting red pair, or they have a fresh new pair hung correctly without the special touch of the talented painters.

win-win-win.

fairhope: day 2

again? you want me to go to fairhope AGAIN? well, ok. if you insist.

i've decided, fairhope is what auburn would be if it had more antique stores and no college students. and with a bigger downtown. and more art. ok so it's not exactly the same, but it has a similar feel. it just makes you smile.

today i ate lunch between appointments at sandra's. i had the most delicious chicken salad melt (and i dare say it's better than big blue bagel's tiger melt). phone quality photos don't do it justice. they use sliced almonds in their chicken salad. thumbs up from me! and i'm a chicken salad snob. there was even bacon on it!!

and, because it was sitting out and the two wonderfully nice ladies told me it was their favorite, i had some cranberry orange cake for dessert. i couldn't finish it all so i took the rest home. now i get to enjoy it twice!!

another good day in fairhope.

i fear that i am developing a dangerous love affair with that town. one that will surely end in heartbreak...and probably weight gain if i keep eating like this! i don't care. it's worth it.

oh fairhope. you're so good to me

another perk to my job: some days i get to drive over and see some folks in the lovely town of fairhope, alabama. if i could define the south in one town, i'd pick fairhope. everyone is nice. when they get mad at someone they say "dad gum his tail!" the food is awesome. the houses are amazing and southern and quaint, it's right on the water (as i discovered yesterday when i got lost--i always knew it was near the water, but it is much nearer than i thought). it's an antiquer's wonderland, and let's not forget that it's home to one of the largest art festivals in the whole world every march.

i would have taken more photos, but i ran out of space on my phone. so here's all you get. it was enough to make my day (even though it was soooo cold--look at all that wind coming off the bay, pretty big white caps!)

if you've never been to fairhope, i suggest you go. even if you're not from the south, i'm sure from time to time you like to vacation on the sandy white beaches of the gulf coast. well next time, vacation in orange beach, alabama, which is in very close proximity to fairhope. you will love it, i promise.

the sec: my disfunctional family

as the national championship approaches, things are heating up in the south. i mean let's think about this: alabama got the national title last year, and now auburn is in the running for it this year. that's an uncommon occurence. two rivals, one championship, one year after the other. one would think it's just the sec world balancing itself out. some, however, think it's some sort of pre-planned one-upper. whatever, it's happening. get over it.

i like to think of the sec as my disfunctional family. the one that fights amongst itself day in and day out, until someone from another family comes along, and then you better not mess with us. at least, that's how i see it. games between the family members: you pick your side based on various reasons, whatever they may be. you know what i'm talking about though. i'll pick a neutral example just to keep it safe here. lsu: if georgia plays lsu, i'll pick georgia. but if some midwestern team comes along and plays lsu, i'm picking lsu. but that's just my theory.

some people just delight in the misfortune of their rival, at any cost or any game. for me this is a conditional statement. i have delighted in some misfortunes within the sec. most are short-lived and survive only the monday morning football talks around the coffee pot.

however, when the balance of fortune and misfortune (because, let's be honest, that's the majority of a game) becomes unequal between rivals, it can result in some nasty behavoior. and what's more, is it's tolerated as normal during football season. if your team is not doing great and your rival(s) is (are), then there's always something you can find to blame it on. i've been there folks, i've done it, so don't deny it. it's the quarterback, it's the crooked coaching and playing of their defense, it's the refs, it was a predetermined game, someone paid someone off, it's because the star's real training came from another school, the list is endless. no one's getting off with a perfect season if you've got anything to say about it.

now here's the strange juxtaposition of football and the south: in most cases, the south has a reputation for politeness, social graces, and if you don't use your manners, someone's mama will correct you (or at least report you to your own mama). and football...football is bred into you like your own family. your team is your family. it's not "auburn played pretty good this weekend." it's "we played pretty dang good, huh?" speaking for auburn specifically (as it's my team and all), auburn is like home to me. it's not only where my parents went to college, but most my aunts and uncles, it's where i went to college, and i spent some of the best years of my life there. i knew how to say "war eagle" before i even knew what it meant, and auburn and navy have always been a fine color palette to me. it has a special place in my heart.

that being said, when you involve football into conversation, i'd be willing to say it's worse than politics. but most etiquitte will teach that you don't bring up politics with someone you don't know well. why, it's just not polite! but football? ok, let's talk football. let's talk about how your team is going to lose and how my team is so great. let's talk about how much i hate your coach and how crooked your athletic department is. let's insult each other until we've both made up our minds that it is impossible to have a decent conversation with her or him--they're just obnoxious lsu fans, or red-neck alabama fans, or over-defensive auburn fans, or conceited florida fans. we all know the labels, and we all know how to apply them.

what happens here? why is it ok--even with general aquaintances, or worse, people you just met--to talk smack to each other when it comes to football? in no other part of life is this normal. social graces are just out the window. i walked into the gym the other day wearing an auburn shirt and some guy who i've never talked to before said to me "did someone throw up on your shirt?!" and it wasn't even a loud obnoxious auburn shirt. it was navy and said "auburn" in white. big deal. i don't walk up to perfect strangers wearing alabama shirts and say "oh, was wal-mart having a sale?" i have couth. i may hate your team, but that doesn't mean i hate you. i have very close and dear people to me that are georgia, florida, florida state, alabama, and lsu fans. i may not route for your football team, but i'm not going to put you down. that's who you are and i respect that.

i know what it means to belong to an sec football team, and therefore i understand what it means to other people. i don't smack talk, i don't bring up football at a dinner gathering, and i don't put obnoxious flags on my car. it's just not polite. and above all else, grow up people. as much as i love it, it's just football. IT'S JUST A GAME.

the best cake i've ever seen

it looks like a porcelain antique. not overdone, not too many extrusions and 3-D add-ons. it's simple and beautiful and the colors are rich and eye-catching.

i wouldn't want to eat it. what skill!!

i have a bone to pick with hgtv

too many people are watching hgtv these days. well, at least the people trying to sell houses. how do i know this? because i'm trying to buy a house. if i started collecting money for every house that i ran into with the following situation, i'd soon have enough money to just buy a nicer home and then i wouldn't be in this mess.

here is my unfortunate situation: i intend to buy in the older pensacola neighborhood where homes range in age from 70-100 years. while this scares some people away, i am completely fine with it. in fact, i prefer it. i don't do new, i don't do cookie cutter, and i don't do careless construction with all these crooked builders looking for the cheapest and easiest way to make money. the great part about the older neighborhoods is they've survived so many generations (and so many hurricanes) that they by default almost always have new roofs, new plumbing, new electrical, and all the leaks have been fixed. the bad part is, rarely are all these tasks tackled at once, or performed under the same ownership. so repair records are lost and buyers are in danger of inheriting a long list of to-do's that weren't anticipated. another bad part is that these houses are only getting older, saggier, and creakier. it takes a dedicated person to buy a house and say "i'm going to take care of this house like it deserves for as long as i own it." that is apparent just by driving down through the neighborhood. some people just don't care about the bones of their house.

another two-sided coin: houses are selling for cheap right now because people can't sell them. good for me pricewise, bad for the owners. so what do the owners do? they turn on their tv, flip to hgtv, and they watch "design to sell" or "the unsellables" or "sell this house." pick one. they all say the same thing:

paint with neutral colors, upgrade to stainless steel appliances, put a pedestal sink in your bathroom, and an updated kitchen with granite countertops is what everyone wants.

WHY DO ALL THESE PEOPLE ON HGTV DEMAND GRANITE? FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, BUY A HOUSE WITH LAMINATE COUNTERS AND THEN BUY YOUR OWN DANG GRANITE! GRANITE DOES NOT A NICE HOUSE MAKE!! does a nice handbag make a mean girl nicer? no. does a bmw and hair gel make a young man rich? no, they could be in debt over that car. houses are no different.

so. continuing....this is what i read when i look at the website description of a house:

"great charm! original hard wood floors, full of history, and recently upgraded. granite countertops, stainless steel appliances! hurry this one won't last long!"

so you think "great! what a fantastic little house!" then you go look at it. here's the translation of that description (realtors are smart):

original hardwood floors = looks like they haven't been touched since they were installed

full of history = the house is sagging because the foundation is old

recently upgraded = the kitchen may be nice, but the bathrooms have moldy grout in the 1950s pink tile

stainless steel appliances = lowest model you can buy, but with stainless finish

if these houses were cougars, it would be the equivalent of them rolling out of bed, spraying on some perfume, and putting on some lipstick before heading to the bars in hopes of a fine young stud who'll spend lots of money on her for a face lift and a boob job. yeah. not happening.

i'm beginning to think i can't even afford the worst of that neighborhood. now don't get me wrong, i don't mind putting in a little bit of elbow grease. refinish floors, re-tile the bathrooms, new kitchen, got it. no problem. in fact, i'd do that even if the house was in good shape (minus refinishing the floors). but foundation issues? wood rot? gaping holes in the middle of the floor? painted over stucco? nuh-uh. i don't have the money to buy a house AND fix all that. i'd rather have a house with good bones and regular, out-dated finishes.

so sellers: stop upgrading your kitchens with granite and calling it updated so you can squeeze an extra penny out of buyers. cuz it's not workin! as soon as the inspector says "this house is in bad shape" everyone is going to walk away. this is a recession. you're wasting your money.

the end.